The Collective Works
by Rosefeather
Summary: AU: Gunpowder, clocks, rings, apples, friends, good times, and hilarity. These are companion one shots to my stories, The Waterfall Cave and it's sequel, Discordant Harmony. Summaries for each story inside.
1. Fireworks

Fireworks

**(A/N: This whole story is a bunch of one shots. For now, they are all taking place after Discordant Harmony. Each chapter is a different one shot. This one, Fireworks, ****is not a songfic!**** Please enjoy!)**

…

Summary- when blueprints/ideas go bad… And Altair and Tali are involved. You know this screams danger.

…

Altair always intended to teach Tali about his special explosives, make no mistake of that.

However, plans seem wasted on this particular group.

The day started normally enough. Altair and Ezio talked and brewed coffee. Yue and Rae cooked eggs and bacon with Barbara, Evanna's sweet mother.

Tali usually dragged her zombie self awake first, this morning was no different. She was followed by Peter, Eric, Carter, Damian, and Evanna respectively.

Nowadays, it was almost impossible to fit everyone around the table. Everyone squashed together somehow though. Usually, two people stood off to the side by the counter though, to help save space.

This particular morning, it was Yue and Altair. Yue, it transpired had not been as drunk as one might have thought and remembered her conversation with Altair by the fountain. She did not regret her decision, she stood by it.

But, this is unimportant.

Talking about what they were doing that day, Carter started off by saying he had lots of reports to work on. He informed Damian that he needed to send him to Agra, so don't make any grand plans. Damian agreed immediately, saying, "That's fine."

"Of course it's fine!" Ezio guffawed, "The pretty lady at the party lives in Agra, does she not? Planning a visit?"

"She has a name." Damian said quietly. But, suddenly too excited, he blurted, "She is beautiful though, isn't she?"

"What is her name?" Tali asked curiously.

"Brea." Damian replied. "Can I visit her while I'm in Agra, Carter?"

Carter laughed. "Of course, who am I to stop you?"

Damian almost skipped out of the room.

Still laughing, Carter turned to Barbara and asked her, "What are your plans for today?"

Smiling, she answered, "I'm teaching Evanna how to knit!"

One quick glance at Evanna, and everyone in the room, even Evanna and her mother, burst out laughing. The expression she had given them was, _"I'm going along because it's my mother. Say. Nothing. Or you die."_

Shaking his head, Carter turned to Eric and Peter, "And you two?"

Eric grinned, "We were, in fact, planning on helping you out at the Cave."

Surprised, Carter accepted their offer of help, and turned to Rae, who started talking before Carter could phrase his question, "Yue and I are training together." Yue raised her mug of coffee in agreement. "Whenever you're ready." Yue told Rae.

"And, Altair, how about you?" Carter asked quickly, so that he couldn't be cut off.

"I have a blueprint for a bomb I'm working on."

"Oh, can I help?" Tali asked excitedly.

"I don't know." Altair replied frowning. "It's a totally new concept, and it could be really dangerous."

Tali shrugged. "Ok then."

Soon after, everyone dispersed to their various tasks and such.

Carter, flanked by Peter and Eric went to the Cave. Evanna, looking like she was at a funeral, followed her mother to the living room for a lesson in knitting. Yue and Rae headed off to train in the forest with their swords. Ezio followed the two women, looking excited. Damian had long since left for Agra. And Altair sprinted to his workshop, which consisted of two horse stalls in the back of the stables.

With nothing else to do, Tali went around cleaning and feeding the horses currently in the enormous stable. In the mid-afternoon, she heard Altair cursing, and cautiously crept to the back.

In one stall, Altair was sitting at a desk, bent over a complicated looking design with many scratching and crossing outs. Disconnected parts and pieces littered the ground and floor. Several boxes labeled, "High explosives, treat with caution," lay off to the right side, resting on the hay still covering the floor.

In the stall right next to Altair's, was nothing but boxes. Many boxes, stacked on top of each other, all labeled, "Danger, high explosives, treat with caution."

Curious, Tali decided to come back. In the meantime, she crept past Altair again and headed into the cottage, to find Rae, Yue, and Ezio back as well. The three were arguing about a bout Ezio had apparently lost against the two girls.

Evanna, meanwhile, was sitting at the table glowering at her hands. "Look at what I did!" Evanna exclaimed when she caught sight of Tali at the door. Evanna waved her hands in the air. "Poked 'em all with needles! I am hopeless!"

Tali couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Evanna rolled her eyes. "I know. It's ridiculous."

"No, it's exactly what would have happened to me!" Tali laughed, and Evanna joined in.

Evanna used her poked fingers as an excuse to get out of helping make dinner, and Ezio claimed Altair needed him desperately, so Barbara, Tali, Rae, and Yue, became in charge of dinner. They decided on the old favorite of stew, and set to work.

… … …

After dinner, Tali, Rae and Yue, teamed up to force Ezio, Eric and Altair to clean up. The boys did so grudgingly.

Meanwhile, Tali took a torch and went back to the stables. She found the stall full of boxes, and peered around, as though hoping for a clue. She took a small step forward, and then jumped when Carter's voice rang out, "What are you doing?"

During her jump, Tali had dropped the torch right onto a box.

What Tali didn't know was that all of these boxes were filled with explosives, and when they met fire, like, say, a torch, they exploded.

So, they exploded.

"RUN!" Tali yelled, running and grabbing Carter's arm and pulling him through the stables and outside. Everyone else joined them outside, just in time to watch the stable roof blow off, in a shower of sparks and flame. Explosions continued to rocket skyward and blow up as the flames spread.

Luckily, Peter had the presence of mind to remember to get the horses out of the stables before they died, and all the animals were rescued.

Finally, all the explosions ceased, and Carter turned to Tali. Slowly, everyone else turned to look at her in annoyance too.

Tali grinned sheepishly. "So, I'm guessing that was all bad, right?"

Altair was furious with her, "All my bombs, all those explosives, gone! They are expensive!"

"Yeah…sorry." Tali said, still sheepish.

Carter was equally angry with Tali, and added, "And why don't you take a look at the roof! Oh, you can't! It's been blown straight off!"

Suddenly, Tali was grinning mischievously, and she said cheerfully, "And it was epic."


	2. Apples and Horses and Altair

Apples and Horses and Altair

**Summary- We all know that Altair is obsessed with apples, but what will that mean for all the Ranger's horses?**

… … …

**Ash (Evanna's horse) POV**

My life can be really boring.

Sure, there are the occasional high speed chases and treks across the whole world, but right now, I was bored to death.

I'm locked in this crazy huge building with individual stalls separated be thick pieces of wood with hay covering the floor.

Some idiot works in the last two stalls on the end. He curses and sets things on fire sometimes. Let's just say his eyebrows aren't the only things that catch fire spontaneously.

Sunlight streamed in because the roof had been blown off recently. That, admittedly had been exciting. More excitement had come a few days later with the arrival of about ten to fifteen more horses. So now there's about twenty five occupied stalls.

The horses brought extra people to help fix the roof, and they started quite quickly. Sometimes I sit and stare up at them. I imagine they envy me, for I am sitting relaxing and they are working in the sun. It's a good feeling.

Anyway, more important is that I have very little to do but eat.

And that's where the trouble started.

… … …

So, it was an average day here. Stare at the people on the roof, eat, nap, and chat with Mint, a friend of mine in the next stall.

I had just woken up from another nap, and was feeling hungry. We have barrels in our stalls full of apples, which is all the horses' favorite food. I trotted over to my barrel, which had been brimming with apples this morning, and found no apples.

That wasn't to say that it was empty though. The idiot who sets things on fire was sitting at the bottom of the barrel (I don't know how he fit his body in there) and he was holding the last apple.

**3****rd**** person POV **

Yes, for those who guessed already, Altair is the flame happy idiot Ash referred to.

And, yes, he managed to fit his body into a barrel and yeah, he was holding Ash's last apple.

Ash, to his credit, did not immediately try to kill Altair, but he snorted indignantly.

This alerted Altair to the horse's presence, and he jumped guiltily.

"Oh, I'm guessing this is yours." Altair said, blushing at being caught.

Ash tossed his head and snorted again, as though to say, _"Why else would it be in __my__ barrel?" _

"Well," Altair began nervously, "I want it."

Ash couldn't understand English, but the way he stared at Altair made Altair wonder if he could, and then Altair worried about how long he would be able to live.

Suddenly, Ash plunged his head into the barrel. Altair yelped, and dropped the apple. He picked it up again as Ash yanked his head out and knocked the barrel over. Altair, clinging to the apple, dived out the stall door and out the stables. Ash followed him out the stall and found the other's horses stall doors open, and their barrels of apples empty. Ash woke the napping horses and rallied them to his cause. Sadly for Altair, the other horses were all for it.

Altair himself had gone around behind the stables. He seemed to forget he was dealing with Ranger horses, and they were trained to be clever, sneaky, and be able to sniff things out. It took Ash ten seconds maximum to find Altair.

Altair saw Ash come around the side of the stables, panicked, and ran for it. Not bothering to stay quiet anymore, all the horses pounded after Altair, who had still not dropped the last apple.

It became a comical scene, Altair yelling for help while being chased in a zig zag pattern by the enraged horses.

Evanna had been inside the cottage, sitting at the kitchen table talking to her mother and drinking coffee, when she heard Altair's screams for help. Concerned, she ran outside. The minute she saw what was happening, she fought back laughter with difficulty and pelted after him to try and help.

"Altair, what did you do?" Evanna shouted.

"Annoyed the horses, I think. HELP!" Altair yelled back.

Smothering her laughter again, Evanna whistled. The horses paused, as one, to consider Evanna, who was gesturing them to follow her.

"Ash!" Evanna called to her horse, and she whistled again. Ash's ears twitched with indecision. He seemed to be thinking that on one hand, here was his master calling. But on the other, was Altair, who had made the rather severe mistake of taking all his food.

Deciding food outweighed master this time, Ash swung around and galloped at Altair, followed eagerly by all the other horses. Altair screamed and ran for his life.

Evanna was surprised by Ash's attitude. She wondered what Altair had done to make her horse that mad. Deciding she needed backup, she ran to get all the Ranger's, Ezio, Yue, and Rae.

All of them followed Evanna out to the meadow. Some laughed, like Evanna had, but most everyone looked concerned. Together, they ran out and tried to whistle and call to their own horses.

This tactic worked much better, and eventually the horses began trickling away to join their masters. It took two hours of this, and finally all the horses were restrained and being taken back to the stables but Ash.

"What is it with your horse?" Carter asked Evanna, as surprised as she was.

Evanna shrugged. Then she caught sight of the apple in Altair's hand.

"Oh, that idiot!" She exclaimed, beginning to realize the problem, and she shot off to run beside Altair.

"Give Ash the apple!" Evanna yelled.

"What, no!" Altair shouted back in surprise.

Taking matters into her own hands, Evanna tackled Altair to the ground and pulled the apple out of his hand. "Here Ash!" She called, and held out the apple to her horse. Ash trotted over and picked up the apple in his teeth so he could munch on it.

"Problem solved." Evanna said, standing up while Altair lay on the ground groaning in pain.

"Come here, Ash." Evanna cooed to her horse, leading him back to the stables.

Carter strode over to where Altair lay, and looked down at him with a bemused expression.

"What is it with the horse?" Altair asked Carter.

"I do believe," Carter began, "that you may have just met someone who likes apples even more than you."

And at that, Carter pulled Altair to his feet, slapped him on the back, and walked back to the cottage.

Altair stood frozen there for a while, and then muttered to himself, "Someday I'm gonna chain that horse up and eat a whole barrel of apples right in front of him."

And, smiling at the image, Altair followed Carter's path back to the cottage.


	3. She Said What?

**She Said What?**

**Summary: ****Yue and Altair are engaged. What are the reactions of their friends? **

… … …

"Just to clarify-"

"I already told you, I said yes, and I'm sticking to it. Stop trying to check."

"But you were drunk!"

"Am I drunk right now?"

"Well. No. But still-"

"But still nothing! You asked me, and I said yes! What more do you need?" Yue exclaimed in agitation.

Altair sighed. "In all honesty, I am terrified of everyone's reaction."

Yue looked at Altair for a full three seconds before exploding into laughter. "I'm sorry," She gasped, "I understand, but really! That's why you were checking all the time? Let's just get it over with then!"

"What? Right now? Tell everyone?" Altair asked in shock.

Yue shrugged. "Why not? I already have the ring, too." Yue waved her left hand in front of Altair's face. Altair caught her hand quickly to admire the ring.

"I choose well." Altair said, in a self satisfied tone.

Yue snorted. "Please. You must have asked every single person in the store what they thought."

"And it paid off." Altair maintained.

The ring had a gold band with little emeralds rather than diamonds on it. Yue loved it, even though it wasn't exactly traditional.

Altair smiled. "Besides, you love it." Altair then kissed the back of Yue's hand. When he looked up, she was blushing. He smiled.

"Fine, we can tell everyone. But bring your swords."

Yue laughed again, and asked, "Why would I need my swords? These are our friends."

Altair warned her, "You never know. Evanna can get violent, and heaven forbid Ezio pulls a sword out in his excitement and take my head off when he only meant to hug me."

Yue shook her head, still grinning, and dragged her fiancée to the Cave, where they knew everyone would be.

When Yue and Altair walked in, everyone looked up, smiling. However, when they saw the two holding hands, their expressions turned confused, and everyone stood up from the table.

"Everyone," Altair began uncomfortably, "Yue and I came to say-"

"That we're getting married!" Yue finished.

One second of silence, and then Rae leapt forward to pull Yue into a hug, exclaiming about how happy she was for her friend. Carter moved forward to shake Altair's hand, and much to Altair's horror, Ezio did indeed pull out his sword and wave it around in excitement.

"My brother's getting married! Married!" Ezio shouted.

Before Ezio could leap forward to congratulate Altair, Evanna broke in, shouting, "Wait! Wait, wait, wait!"

Everyone grew quiet and looked at Evanna. "She said yes? She agreed to marry you? When?"

Yue smiled and explained, "At the first party we went to, at the castle. I was in the garden by the fountain, and Altair found me. We talked, and he asked me, and I said yes." Yue shrugged.

"Well, that's it then." Evanna said grinning. "No more parties for you two!"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh, and Ezio?" Altair called to his brother, "Put away the sword before someone loses a head, will you?"

"Oh, right." Ezio agreed, putting the sword away. Then he leaped forward to hug and congratulate Altair and Yue, quickly followed by everyone else.

"That went… well?"

Yue laughed. "I told you it would."

Altair shrugged. "I suppose you did. What did Tali tell you?"

Yue grimaced. "Nothing important."

Intrigued, Altair raised his eyebrows.

Yue glanced at him, and then sighed. "She wants to plan the wedding."

Altair shook his head. "Oh, that would be a disaster."

"Alright." Yue told him, "You tell her that."

Altair froze in panic, Yue grinning before him. "That would be an even bigger disaster."

"Yes, I figured as much. Perhaps we'll all get drunk and I'll tell her then that she can't plan the wedding. Then at least, it would all have been damaged anyway." Yue said thoughtfully.

Altair laughed and shook his head again, saying, "Bad plan. I'll tell her, if you want me to."

Yue squeezed Altair's hand and said, "How about we go together?"

"Even better."

"Bring your sword."

Yue dragged Altair off again to find Tali, both of them laughing.

Fin.


	4. Girl's Night Out

**Girl's Night Out**

**Summary-The girl's take a night off. Alcoholic drinks are consumed, and Altair tries to be damage control, which only succeeds in making more damage.**

… … …

Yue, Tali, Evanna, and Rae decided to celebrate Yue's engagement.

Altair decided to be damage control.

Ah, but you require details? Fine, fine, here's the story.

Evening was falling the day after Yue and Altair told everyone about their engagement.

The girls were sitting in the kitchen after dinner when Evanna suddenly said, "Why don't we celebrate?"

"Celebrate what?" Tali asked.

"Yue and Altair are getting married, duh." Evanna replied, lightly slapping her friend on the head. "Let's have a little party, just the girls."

"We need wine!" Rae exclaimed, jumping up and running out of the room.

Yue smiled, "Fun!"

Evanna turned to Yue, "Yue, find your fiancée and his co-horts and tell them our evil plan."

Yue laughed as she ran to the living room. "Altair! Everyone!" Yue exclaimed upon entering. All the boys turned to face her, curious. "The girls are going to have a party, just us, to celebrate me getting married! See you tomorrow!" And Yue promptly dived back into the kitchen.

… … …

_Crash! _

_Thump! _

In the cave, the boys could hear mad laughter echoing from the cottage.

"That sounds dangerous." Ezio observed casually.

"Think we should check on them?" Altair asked worriedly, as more laughter rang out, followed by another crash.

"You like life? Don't go in there." Eric said firmly.

"Well, I'm going to." Altair retorted.

Peter mimed his throat being slit, and pointed to Altair saying, "Your fate, man. Death awaits."

And on that cheerful note, Altair headed to the cottage.

… … …

The girls were having a wonderful, drunken time.

Evanna and Yue had tons of fun breaking all the plates in the cabinets. Tali and Rae were giggling madly while sword fighting with spoons.

Evanna also succeeded in dropping a bottle of wine on the floor, and spilling her glass on a pillow.

When Altair walked in, the girls were jumping on the chairs and couch and having a pillow fight. A very violent pillow fight at that. Tali's knife seemed to have gotten involved, because one of the pillows was ripped cleanly in half. (Several other pillows suffered violent stabbing.)

Oh, and apparently, Rae and Yue managed to break one of the chairs by the kitchen table. How? Yes, that is the question, isn't it?

So, Altair walked in to find this mess. For a second he stopped and stared, but a glass of wine came zooming at his head, thrown by Rae, so he was forced to duck sideways.

"Ladies! Calm down, please!" Altair shouted over the laughter (and the ripping, as another pillow underwent surgery, drunken Tali style).

Altair picked up a bottle of wine carefully and said, "I think you all need to calm down, and not drink more."

Evanna chuckled and said, "We could always use more wine, stupid."

Altair looked at her, and said quietly, "Well, yes, usually I might agree, but-"

"Not the wine!" Rae suddenly yelled, and she threw another glass of wine at Altair, who was forced to flee the room, because now the girls were chasing him. Granted they stumbled and giggled madly, but Tali was still holding her knife, and Altair had a sinking feeling she would be just as capable of stabbing drunk, as she was when sober.

… … …

Barbara had been in Agra overnight, and thus had missed the show.

However, when she walked in, it was lucky she didn't have a heart attack. The kitchen was in disarray, pieces of broken plates scattered on the floor, and spoons bent on the counter. A broken bottle of wine still lay on the floor, the wine never having been cleaned up.

The only good news was that the damage only extended from the kitchen, to the living room.

The bad news is that pillows lay ripped and stabbed all around the room. A chair was broken, and another had wine spilled on it. Bottles of wine were on every surface.

Also, pieces of a wooden chair lay scattered about.

Curious indeed.

To complete the scene in the living room, Altair lay on the couch, one arm dangling down, holding a bottle of wine.

The girls, clever and evil even when drunk, had arranged Altair on the couch, so that when Barbara walked in, she'd see Altair and blame him. It worked perfectly.

Barbara had Altair on his feet and cleaning in five minutes. She was furious with him, that was for sure.

What she didn't understand was why the girls kept throwing up…

Fin.

**(A/N: Oh my god, can I please just write my characters as drunk all the time? This has been my favorite one shot so far! Please enjoy!)**


	5. Musical Rangers

Musical Rangers

**Summary- It's a regular day in the meadow and cottage with the Rangers, until three strange packages show up, and Evanna, Tali, and Rae are all thrilled about it for some reason…**

… … …

"What is this?" Peter asked, looking at the three oddly shaped packages on the ground.

Evanna peered around her husband then made an unusual sound – she squealed in delight. "Finally!" Evanna exclaimed.

Peter raised his eyebrows and repeated his question, "What is it?"

Evanna grinned, and told him, "Wait and see my dear. Hidden talents can reveal themselves only so fast." She left him standing there, utterly confused, and ran to the back of the cottage, shouting, "Tali! Rae! They came!"

The three women ran together back to the door, and squealed and shouted in happiness.

Yue, curious, finally yelled, "You gonna tell us what those are, or am I gonna have to rip open that box and find out for myself?"

Rae smiled at her friend. "It's a surprise."

Yue snorted in disgust. "Yes, please, then continue flaunting it in front of me. Hey, how come Altair gets to see?"

Tali began, "He doesn't- ALTAIR!" Tali leapt at the assassin, knife in hand. She landed on top of him, her knife to his throat.

"Please don't kill me." Altair squeaked in terror.

"All in all, a normal day at the cottage." Eric commented from the kitchen.

… … …

1 week later…

"Still not telling?"

A large smile lit up Tali's face. "Of course. Why ruin a wonderful surprise?"

"I hate surprises." Grumbled Yue.

"So do I!" Altair exclaimed, and he high fived his fiancée.

"You two are so made for each other." Rae laughed.

Altair and Yue blushed, an unusual reaction from the pair, but very amusing to watch.

"So when do we discover this wonderful surprise?" Carter called from down the table. (As it was dinnertime.)

Evanna replied, "In about three months."

Complaints immediately broke out.

"Hey, hey, we need time to get organized." Tali said.

"Organized? Is that a clue? Do we get clues? Is this a game? When's the next clue?" Yue fired back quickly.

"No, it's not a clue, this isn't a game," Rae said, shooting a glare at Tali, who shrugged.

Evanna continued, "We want to make it really special, so we need a lot of time to get organized, alright?"

Some muttering broke out again, but soon everyone agreed, and they continued normally.

… … …

3 months later…

Rae, Tali, and Evanna forced everyone to stay in the Cave all day.

"I'm bored!" Yue shouted, finally losing it.

Altair hugged her. "They can't keep us here forever. We'll find a way out, I promise."

Eric looked at them oddly, then said, "You do realize we aren't trapped, and we could leave and wander around outside whenever we want?"

Altair and Yue stood frozen for a moment, and then Yue muttered, "All right, if you want to look at it like that."

"You find it fun to pretend you're trapped here?" Peter asked Yue.

"No, but it feels like it." Yue responded in irritation.

Rae walked in at that moment and announced, "You can come back in now! We're ready!"

Yue plowed Rae over, screaming, "I'm free! FREE!"

Rae stood up, wincing. "Um, what happened?"

"Boredom, apparently." Ezio said, standing next to Rae as they watched Yue run around in the meadow. Rae snorted and shook her head.

"Altair, control your fiancée."

"Yes ma'am." Altair responded, saluting Rae.

Altair then proceeded to restrain Yue by running out and tackling her (much the same way Evanna had done to stop Altair previously). He dragged her back to the others and all together, they went into the cottage.

The living room had been reorganized. The couches and chairs were now facing three music stands and a simple wooden chair.

Confused, but excited, the group sat on the chairs and couches.

Rae, Evanna, and Tali came in, holding long bows and carrying beautiful wooden string instruments.

Everyone started shouting at once.

"Calm down!" Evanna called.

"For those who do not know, Tali said more calmly, "Evanna and I play violin, and Rae plays cello."

"Really?" Carter asked in surprise.

"I never knew…" Ezio said, staring at Rae, who blushed scarlet.

"Right so," Tali interrupted, "We have a piece we've been working on together that we want to play for you all."

"Great." Carter said, and he waved a hand at the girls, indicating they should start.

So, Rae sat with her cello, and adjusted herself so she could play. Evanna and Tali stood by their music stands, and all three got in position.

Rae began, playing long, soothing, deep notes.

The rest of the song continued on like this, picking up when Tali started playing faster, higher notes, but Rae and Evanna played a steady and beautiful background.

All of their friends sitting on the chairs and sofas were swaying back and forth with content smiles on their faces (even Yue).

All too soon, the song drew to a close, finishing with one long note.

Everyone applauded, and the girls bowed deeply.

"What song was that?" Ezio asked curiously.

"It's called Canon in D." Tali replied, grinning. "Isn't it lovely?"

"Yeah…" Ezio agreed, his eyes flicking over to Rae again. Ezio left Tali and Evanna and walked over casually to Rae, who was putting her instrument away in its case.

"Cello? Where'd you learn cello? I thought you've been on the run most of your life."

Rae smiled. "I have been on the run most of my life. But when I was about sixteen, I met a family who kind of adopted me for a while." Rae shrugged. "They loved cellos, and they could all play one, so they started to teach me. I loved it, and practiced a lot."

"Why didn't you stay there then?" Ezio asked Rae curiously.

Rae sighed and looked down at her bow. "I… don't know. I guess I was worried my sisters would track me down if I stayed much longer."

There was a brief pause, then Rae said quietly, "I've been back since."

Ezio raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Rae continued, "I went back to the family, when I was about twenty-three or so." She looked up at Ezio, smiling. "They were fine. And when they told me my sisters had come looking for me not long after I left, I was relieved."

There was another, longer pause this time, punctuated by their friends' chatter.

"Would you teach me?" Ezio suddenly asked Rae.

"What?" Rae looked at Ezio in confusion.

"Teach me. To play cello." Ezio clarified.

Rae blinked rapidly several times in surprise. "I- I suppose I could teach you, sure."

Ezio smiled widely. "Great! When?"

"Tomorrow, in my room? That's where me and Tali and Evanna practiced."

… … …

The next day…

"Cello is hard."

Rae smiled and laughed. "You say that now, but soon it'll be easy. You can learn if you keep trying."

"Okay." Ezio agreed uncertainly, frowning in concentration at the bow in his right hand. "So, this is how I hold the bow?"

Rae examined Ezio's hand placement critically. "Yes, I think you've got it. But, I want you to pluck the strings first."

Ezio sighed, and responded, "But it's so boring! I want to know how you do that thing, like you did yesterday, with your hand, and it was really awesome… and, yeah."

Rae shook her head, laughing, and explained, "No, you have to start with the boring stuff first. Because, you still don't know all your fingerings. Frankly, I don't think you know the string names."

Ezio stuck his tongue out at Rae, and pointed at the thinnest string, saying, "This is A. The next one is D, then G, and this fat one here is C."

Rae clapped, and said, amusement in her voice, "I underestimated you! Congratulations, your five second memory is amazing!" She patted Ezio on the head.

Ezio rolled his eyes and told her, "Alright, enough of the funny stuff. Teach me the cool stuff!"

Rae grinned evilly. "If you insist."

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes, you shall regret that slip of the tongue." Rae pulled out two pieces of sheet music with a flourish and instructed Ezio, "Play proper dynamics, markings, and style. Oh, and don't forget the tempo is Allegro."

Ezio stared, his mouth open, at the music before him. "What are all these curvy lines? And what is… Legato? And Allegro? And dynamics? And what's this word? Forte, or something?"

Rae, looking superior, explained, "Those curvy lines are called slurs. It's when you play two notes in one bow stroke. Legato is a style where you play notes smooth and connected. Allegro describes the tempo, or the speed of the piece. Allegro is fast, one of the fastest tempos. At least, for a beginner." Rae smirked at Ezio, while he frowned. "Dynamics tell you what volume to play the piece, or a section of it, at. Forte is loud, and so you add weight to the bow to make a bigger sound. Piano is soft, so you bow lightly."

"How am I going to remember any of this?" Ezio asked in horror.

"You won't." Rae said simply. "It takes time, effort, and patience."

Ezio sat for a minute, contemplating. "I'll give it a try."

Smiling victoriously, Rae said, "Back to square one. Oh, and this time? Listen."

Ezio grinned sheepishly.

… … …

6 months later…

Yue looked dubiously at Ezio, who was sitting primly, with the bow in his right hand, and the cello in his left. A music stand was situated in front of Ezio's chair.

"After six months of practicing with Rae, you're ready to perform?" Yue asked Ezio.

Ezio shrugged and replied, "Rae has more faith that I can do it than I do. She says I made some real progress."

Rae suddenly entered the living room herself and announced, "Yes, he has."

"But… to perform a solo?" Yue asked in disbelief.

Rae smiled and put a finger to her lips. "Watch and listen."

Evanna spoke up from her spot beside Tali and Peter. "Break a leg, Ezio!"

Ezio smiled nervously at her.

Altair grinned at his brother and said, "Remember what I said."

Ezio looked confused for a second, then remembered, then turned white.

Altair winked and put his arm around Yue, who turned a light red.

Carter rolled his eyes at all his young students and called, "Alright, enough horseplay. Off you go, Ezio."

Ezio swallowed nervously, and glance at Rae, who was smiling brightly at him.

So, Ezio cleared his throat and said, "This is a piece called Gauntlet. It's not actually a solo, but Rae tweaked it slightly so that it could be."

Ezio placed the bow on the strings, and began. The song began in a slightly choppy, and mysterious tone. It continued on, rising in volume and speed. It gradually quieted some, to sound like a graceful lullaby. Then, Ezio repeated the earlier, loud and choppy style, finishing in a few deep notes.

Everyone in the room began clapping, and Ezio looked pleasantly surprised. He was even happier when Rae threw her arms around him and exclaimed, "That was wonderful!"

Even Yue agreed Ezio had done alright, claiming she had "never even doubted him, really."

… … …

Later that evening, Rae stopped by to talk with Ezio.

Ezio had been laying on his bed, fretting over whether one of his notes had been in tune or not.

And then, Rae was standing above him, smiling, and saying, "You talk to yourself?"

Ezio turned scarlet, and stuttered, "So- sometimes."

Rae grinned, "So do I. I think it's the mark of a true genius."

Ezio suddenly felt much better.

Rae continued, "I'm really proud of you for not giving up cello."

Ezio shrugged modestly, privately thinking he would have jumped off a cliff into a raging river of starving alligators and sharks if Rae asked him too.

Or something similar, in the least.

Ezio said, "It was difficult, but with you around it was quite enjoyable."

Rae chuckled and replied, "Quite the charmer, are you?"

Ezio blinked in mock surprise, dramatically gasping, and exclaiming, "Whatever made you think that?"

Smothering her laughter, Rae responded, "Oh, I dunno. Could have been you flirting with me."

Ezio shrugged, "What can I say? Pretty girls are dangerous weapons."

"Oh, so you're saying you think I'm pretty?"

"You are beautiful."

Rae couldn't help blushing. "If you must know… you're quite handsome, as well."

Ezio grinned, "The pretty girl likes me!"

Rae smacked him playfully on the arm. "Oh, quiet down there!"

"But you do like me!"

"Yes, I do."

"Fantastic!"

Rae looked confused. "What?"

Ezio explained, "Now we can go on a date!"

Rae broke into laughter, but finally calmed down enough to say, "Yeah, sure. "

Ezio was floating on clouds. Pink clouds. Fluffy pink clouds. Ezio mentally shook himself, questioning his manliness. (_"Real men do not wear pink," _he told himself.)

Anyway, Rae left shortly after, so Ezio laid back on his bed.

A wide smile began to creep onto his face.

Altair had been right. All he had to do was play for Rae.

Fin.

**(A/N: Well, that was a bit longer than I thought it would be! **

**Special thanks to one of my crazy friends for giving me the original idea! **

**Special thanks to my brother, for helping me expand the idea! **

**By the way, both of the pieces mentioned here are real music pieces. I have actually played Canon in D, while my brother and I have played Gauntlet, which is a song we are both addicted to. : ) Both are string music pieces that I highly recommend listening to, as I have discovered describing music in writing is very difficult. Also, I have been playing violin for two years, so I do know what all the symbols and such mean. If you think I got something wrong, correct me, please, but don't hate it you don't know, alright? **

**To conclude, I hope you enjoyed! (Sorry about the rant… I tend to get carried away…**

**Feel free to review! **

**~ Rosefeather**


	6. The Annoying Ticking

The Annoying Ticking

**Summary- The clock is ticking (literally) and Evanna's patience is growing thin. See what happens to clocks that annoy Evanna!**

… … …

Night is normally a quiet, peaceful time.

Nothing stirs, because everyone is resting, save the few nocturnal creatures who prefer the dark over the light.

However, on this particular warm night, Evanna could not sleep.

… … …

Counting sheep, for some reason, never worked for Evanna. Although frankly, nothing could ease Evanna into sleep because, of the ticking.

The ticking came from Evanna's new clock. The thing made a terribly annoying ticking sound every time the little hand moved from second to second. It was like slow, painfully annoying torture.

Evanna tossed around a while, trying to relax, and finally lay still, listening to the obnoxiously loud, ticking, clock.

Evanna was actually amazed the sound hadn't woken her husband, Peter, who was sound asleep beside her. Mostly, Evanna was irritated. It was no fair Peter could sleep through a war, how come he didn't get woken up in the middle of the night by the clock of evil torture and doom?

So, in typical, evil, Evanna fashion, she figured she could kill two birds with one stone by waking Peter up and convincing him to get rid of the vile clock.

"Peter!" Evanna hissed through the blackness.

Peter stirred but didn't wake up.

Exasperated, Evanna tried again, "Peter!" This time, she was successful; Peter sat up, confused, and asked sleepily, "What's up?"

Evanna pointed at the clock, even though it was pitch black in the room. "The clock won't. Stop. Ticking. And if it doesn't stop, I'm ripping something."

"Oh, hold off on the ripping, won't you?" Peter said tiredly. "I'll be right back."

Peter stumbled out of the room, still half asleep. He returned moments later holding something suspiciously long and sharp. Peter walked to the clock, and, with one swift motion chopped the clock right off the wall, with what Evanna realized to be an axe.

Evanna sat, listening to the new silence, and smiled. "Thank you." She said fervently to Peter, who had leaned the axe against the wall by the bed, as though having dangerous and sharp weapons near you while you slept was totally normal.

"Anytime, Evanna." Peter responded, crawling back into bed with his wife.

"Next time my mother gives us a clock, hold me back if I try to strangle her, okay?" Evanna asked Peter, who chuckled.

Oh, what a surprise Evanna was going to get for Christmas.

**(A/N: Dang. That was quick. Oh well, hope you enjoyed! **

**This was brought about by sleeping in the same room as a ticking clock. I combined the clock, Evanna, and an axe, and thus this super short one shot was born. **

**So, I hope you like it! Review! See you next one shot! **

**~ Rosefeather **

**Finished 9/16/11. **


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